How can Drone professionals improve their time management?

The drone industry is fast-paced. Using SMART goals can boost time management. This approach prevents vague, unrealistic, or irrelevant expectations, saving valuable time and resources. For drone projects: - Specific: Detail precise objectives, specifying areas, procedures, etc. - Measurable: Quantify progress, e.g., acres mapped, square footage cleaned, panels inspected, aiding effective monitoring. - Achievable: Ensure realism; drones and operators have limits. - Relevant: Align with broader aims, enhancing accuracy and performance. - Time-bound: Set deadlines, crucial in time-sensitive operations like crop health monitoring.

Create a structured schedule and set clear objectives. Use productivity tools to track tasks and deadlines. Prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance.

SMART goals are crucial realistically for any leader. They help bring your goals into a more concrete framework by following the acronym: Specific: drone projects require precise objectives. specify the exact areas, number of procedures, etc. Measureable: In drone ops. progress can be quantified, such as acres of area mapped, square footage cleaned, number of solar panels inspected, etc. This measurability helps with data that allows for effective monitoring. Achievable: Don't agree to something you cant do, drones can do alot but they arent the solution to everything yet! Relevant: Align with broader project aims like improving accuracy Time-bound: Timing is often critical in drone ops such as crop health monitoring. Set proper deadlines.

Setting SMART goals is always a great idea, but one should always remember to align your goals with the goals of your stakeholders. Also, it's usually worth spending some time to decompose the global goals of a project into goals of lower levels: for teams, employees, etc. This will significantly help with coordination and alignment.

Although all projects are unique, there are always things to be done in every project. Don't rely on your memory only - prepare project checklists and use them when launching a new project. Project kick-off meetings are an excellent tool to engage your team and stakeholders in project planning and take all their considerations and ideas into account. Ask more questions and assume less. Assumptions are the mother of all f*ckups!

Planning ahead is monumental for any kind of drone operation done outdoors which will be (probably) at least 95% of the time. Anticipating challenges like weather, airspace regulations, and equipment condition is essential. Check Kp, check the number of satellites at the location, check if there will be anything that may interfere with signals. You must plan ahead thoroughly, I use checklists, timelines, calendars, reminders, alarms, budgets, contingency plans, and more to make sure every project is completed to its full extent with the least amount of hiccups. And most importantly, to create the safest environment. Foresight ensures operational efficiency and safety as well as compliance, which are crucial for any drone operator in field.

Number 1 for drone operations, forward planning ensures no surprises when you turn up for the job. Weather must be checked and evaluated - if it's going to be marginal then postponing the operation may be a better option. Flight restriction zones, you may need several days to receive permission. No fly zone? It's better to apply for an unlock prior to the operation rather than on site where there may be no data access.

Mission Planning is imperative. Don't rely on Google Earth or Google Maps to evaluate a site. Do a scoping mission and visit the site. Take the time to walk around, look at the obstacles, review what the customer's demands are and determine the best ways to provide them while you are doing your walk around. This will also help you determine what will be the best equipment to use, how many batteries you'll need, and how many images will be necessary. If you see any problems with the site, you'll be better versed to have that conversation with your customer.

In my experience, know when to do the tasks yourself and when to hire someone to take some off your plate. Planning ahead will help you from getting burned out.

Prioritization and triage go hand in hand when trying to manage time effectively- regardless of the industry. When I was an EMT an ER doctor once taught me that they would simply be overwhelmed if they look at all of the patients as equals. Meaning, they would assess and determine the severity of the issue that each patient had- a broken toe vs a projectile wound. If one patient has life threatening/critical needs they are prioritized over the patient that can wait a few hours with a broken toe. My point being is you will always have stuff to do, but doing the right stuff first is key for progress and efficiency. Take time and decide which tasks have to be completed by when, how urgent, how daunting, etc. Breathe. Assess. Triage.

Delegation and growth go hand in hand. From the start I always structured my company in a way that tasks were delegated amongst individuals- granted I was the sole individual running it at the time, but I imagined a sperate role for each task. As if I could wear a new hat and be the marketing manager, then change and be the website design, then change and be an expert at excel. Granted, when you have the financial ability to actually delegating the tasks is ideal, but for most people starting out there is no one to delegate to- which is fine! Still act like you do so the systems are set in place for when you are ready to scale, this will give you a leg up and an easier time in the future. Collaborate with fellow industry people and learn!

Using tools and software to track and analyze key metrics like chemical usage, flight time, sq footage per day, revenue, quantity of jobs, price points, etc. is by far one of the most important steps of separating a side hustle from a business. This allows operators to assess when projects meet set goals and standards. Additionally, client feedback reviews can help highlight staff strengths when management might not even see it, identify unsee areas needed for improvement, and enables drone professionals to adjust strategies and enhance overall efficiency and effectiveness of operations. Pen and paper are great but it is about to be 2024- use a CRM, accounting program, and simplify your life with technology. It is here to help!

Always do a post mission evaluation or a mission debrief. You will always find ways to improve from one mission to the next. Be realistic about your work when you're evaluating it. If a CRM was utilized, sit down with everyone, ask them what worked and what didn't, and don't be afraid to ask "what can we do better next time?" Second, keep reading. Look for articles, books, and magazines that appeal to your interests and cover skills you are interested in building. Don't be afraid to talk to other drone operators. We love to share our experience, and we all can learn from each other.

Onsite data QC is a must - always check your data after each flight, as sometimes a few bad images can mean having to do the flight again. Far better to discover this whilst onsite, than in the office a few days later! Apps like Drone Harmony and DroneDesk can also help plan jobs from start to finish and template a lot of the processes, ultimately saving you hours of time and effort.

Automation and queuing of data processing tasks has proven to shave days off of client data delivery times. 30 seconds spent compiling a batch processing queue or task-list execution script can save multiple hours of downtime between processes. I have compiled several guides for photogrammetry programs and LIDAR tools to eliminate unnecessary downtime. The second biggest time saver for drone pilots, operators, and managers, is executing the mission correctly the first time. The greatest time sink I've observed in the UAV data industry is time lost to re-flying missions that haven't been completed to spec.

Maintaining critical (constructive) thinking during the planning, execution and debriefing phases of the flight allows each pilot to maintain situational awareness. However, it should not be confused with thinking linked to negativism. In short, I stand by the phrase I heard on my pilot training course: "use as much knowledge as possible so you don't have to use all your skills..."

Understanding the real capabilities of your drone is a must for time management. It will allow you to plan your project time and understand dos and don'ts. Also, it helps with the safety measures prior to your next mission. This will help us to reduce the amount of waste time on the field and get the maximum outputs on any given mission.

Effective time management starts when the client first contacts for a project and ends when the data has been fully delivered and paid for. One of the more critical bottlenecks I see negatively affecting proper time management is not enough preflight preparation. This means everything from site analysis, flight planning, acquiring the necessary POC information, understanding the SOW, and more! You wouldn't show up to a test unprepared; why show up to work unprepared?